The present invention generally relates to a valve assembly and, more particularly, to an axially symmetric faucet valve assembly for insertion into a valve body communicating with a pressurized fluid source.
In the past, valve assemblies of many different types and configurations have been proposed. Such assemblies have, unfortunately, oftentimes been very complicated and contained numerous parts which were difficult and expensive to manufacture and also required considerable maintenance and repair. With regard to valve assemblies for water faucets, the problems have been aggravated by the rapidly expanding do-it-yourself market in the field of home improvements.
In particular, water faucets have generally fallen into two major categories, i.e., screw stem and nonrise valve. The screw stem type of water faucet has largely been replaced by nonrise valve faucets which has significantly reduced the extent and frequency of repairs required by reason of the elimination of sealing washers on discs adapted to be threaded out of and into contact with valve seats to open and close the valves. In contrast, the nonrise valve faucets, which are commonly known as "washerless", utilize spring-loaded seals.
In one type of nonrise valve for faucets and the like, the valve assembly includes a valve insert in a valve body carrying the spring loaded seals. A valve stem having a rotary sealing plate is also disposed within the valve body such that the spring loaded seals cooperate with the sealing plate to seal the valve when the plate is in the "off" position. Unfortunately, the spring loaded seals, which wear much better than the replaceable sealing washers utilized in screw stem faucets, must nevertheless occasionally be replaced.
When replacement becomes necessary, the spring loaded seals must be removed from the valve insert inside the valve body. This is usually a most difficult task, especially for the do-it-yourselfer with little experience and limited manual dexterity, since the seals are quite small, relatively tight fitting, and disposed fairly deeply within the limited diameter opening in the valve body. As a result, it has remained to enhance the ease with which nonrise valve faucets can be repaired in the event that it is necessary to replace the spring loaded seals.